UPSC Mains 2021 GS2 Q10 — International Relations
"The USA is facing an existential threat in the form of a China, that is much more challenging than the erstwhile Soviet Union." Explain. (Answer in 150 words)
Question Decoded — examiner's intent
- Directive verbs
- Explain
- Scope keywords
- existential threatChinamuch more challengingerstwhile Soviet Union
- Implicit sub-parts
- What was the nature of the Soviet threat (primarily military/ideological) compared to the Chinese threat?
- Why is the deep economic integration of China with the global/US economy a unique challenge compared to the Cold War era?
- How does China's technological dominance and 'Comprehensive National Power' surpass the Soviet model?
- What makes this threat 'existential' for the current US-led liberal international order?
- Common pitfalls
- Writing a general history of the Cold War without contrasting it with the present China-US rivalry.
- Ignoring the economic interdependence (Chimerica) which makes decoupling harder than it was with the USSR.
- Failing to mention specific modern domains like AI, 5G, and supply chain dominance which the USSR never controlled.
- Treating the 'existential threat' phrase as hyperbole rather than addressing the challenge to US global hegemony.
- Dimensions required
- Historical ComparativeGeopoliticalEconomic and TradeTechnological and CyberIdeological (Authoritarian Capitalism vs. Democracy)
- Marks allocation hint
Devote 30 words to the historical context of the USSR as a one-dimensional military threat. Spend 90 words on the multi-dimensional nature of China's challenge (economic, tech, and institutional). Use the final 30 words to conclude on the shift from a bipolar Cold War to a more complex systemic rivalry.
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